Earlier this month, we brought you news about 100 Belugas trapped by thick ice sheets in Russian waters near the Chukotka Peninsula. Russia quickly sent an ice breaker vessel to free the whales but the attempt was unsuccessful.

But news has changed in Russian headlines: The hunters who originally spotted as many as 100 trapped Belugas are now reporting that there are only 12 Belugas in captivity! If the observations of the hunters are correct, this means that 88 Belugas managed to escape from the ice! Researchers at the Chukotka Fishery Research Center are hopeful that there is enough food in the channel to sustain the 12 Belugas for the next month.